Once Upon A Dream • K.M.

(1.35) Dreams Are All We Have

"This isn't the last time we'll see each other Eden, I just need to get out of town for a bit." She scoffed, shoving her leg through the dress and wriggling it up her body.

"That's almost as tacky as the 'it's not you, it's me' line." She pulled the straps up and it snapped against her shoulders as she shoved past Klaus back into his bedroom to put on the Mary Jane's she'd left by the bed.

"I understand if you're angry but I just need-" She whipped around, and the argument died in his throat.

"No Niklaus. I don't want to hear anymore of your lies. Take me home." She said lowly, Klaus hesitated.

"Eden I-" she cut him off.

"Niklaus take me home or I swear to God I'll walk." She growled out. Klaus stiffened at the demand, his face going stony.

"As you wish." He said softly. Klaus picked her up at lightening speed and she didn't have a chance to close her eyes and so she could see the city whipping by her in a hazy blur before they landed in front of her doorstep. Eden wiggled out of Klaus' arms and dug in her dress pockets for her keys. She stuck the key in the slot and turned the knob to push it open. She was about to slam the door behind her when Klaus placed his hand out, stopping her from shutting the door.

"Nik-" He whipped the brunette around and placed a swift kiss on Eden's lips. Before she could pull away, he backed up and when she blinked, he was gone.

* * *

"You know," Eden started as she walked into one of the many rooms in the Gilbert house. "You guys should know better than to leave the door unlocked." Jeremy smiled up at his best friend and got up to pull Eden into a hug.

"Hey, where'd you go last night?" She faltered slightly, thinking upon her fight with Klaus this morning.

"I went home, like you told me. I felt as though there weren't a reason for me to stay." She lied, surprised at how easily the lie slid past her lips.

"Well, at least you're okay." Elena chirped in as she poured a bucket of paint into the small pan.

"Going darker, huh?" A deep voice asked from behind Eden. She turned to see Stefan walking into the room. She slid over a few steps to make room for him.

"It's the only color we had." Elena said absently, not bothering to turn away from the painting.

"That's what happens when you decide to paint your dead guardian's room in the middle of the night." Jeremy said, looking over his shoulder at Elena.

"Wait, Ric..is dead?" Eden asked him, why hadn't Klaus told her? Elena turned around, a frown on her pretty face.

"Yeah, it didn't go well last night." Eden frowned, upset that she hadn't been made aware of last night's events.

"I'm sorry to hear that." She looked from Jeremy to Elena.

"Don't be." Jeremy said shortly.

"Do you want a hand?" Stefan offered. Eden thanked him silently, there was no way she was getting paint on this new jacket.

"Yeah, thanks." Elena accepted gratefully.

"So are you two back together or something?" Jeremy asked from behind the older brunette and while Eden had been thinking the same thing, she smacked his shoulder.

"Jeremy!" Eden scolded.

"No, I was just checking up on you guys, after everything to, see how you were doing." Stefan fumbled.

"We're fine," Jeremy bit back. "But if you wanna be the good guy again, how about you do the right thing. Give us one day, one day without any vampires." He walked out of the room and Elena looked to Eden for back-up. The older girl nodded her head, following after the younger Gilbert into his room. He was shuffling papers around angrily, trying to get them to straighten.

"Usually when you want something neat, you take your time." Eden offered. Jeremy sighed, his back muscles relaxing slightly.

"Not now Eden." Eden walked into the room more, pushing the door closed. She stood next to him in front of the dresser as he stared down at the mess in front of him.

"I'm sorry about Ric Jer, I know how much you looked up to him." Jeremy scoffed.

"It's not about Ric Eden, it's about everyone." He sat on his bed, throwing his blankets back in frustration.

"Okay, so what is it about everyone that's making you cranky?" She asked, sitting in his desk chair.

"Everyone seems to be forgetting how much vampires have ruined our lives, all of our lives." Eden ran a hand through her hair, knowing that she was a little unqualified to help him here.

"Jeremy, they're our friends. Are we supposed to turn our backs on them?" Jeremy shook his head.

"It's not Caroline or Tyler I'm talking about. It's Stefan and Damon and Klaus. They've all done horrible things and it's like whenever one good thing happens, everyone seems to forget that." Eden scoffed lightly.

"I don't see anyone forgiving Niklaus for a long time." She mumbled, more to herself than to Jeremy.

"That's not what I mean Eden. I'm talking about them, in general. Elena keeps letting them both in, repeatedly letting them put her in danger and causing all this drama by stringing them along, like these are healthy relationships." He ranted and Eden grimaced slightly as he brought up relationships.

"Well Jeremy, she can't help who she falls in love with, you know that. And let's not forget about that weird girl Anna who stalked you for a solid week and yet you liked her, hell I'm almost sure you loved her." Eden reminded him. Jeremy rubbed the back of his neck, unsure what to say.

"Go on and tell me that I have a point, because I know that I do. You can't blame your sister for falling in love. Just like no one blames you for falling in love with weird stalker girls." Jeremy smiled.

"She wasn't a stalker." He defended lamely. The two of them exchanged a look before laughing.

"Give your sister time Jer, give yourself time too." Eden advised once they've stopped laughing. She was about to say how she felt like they could all use some time when they hear a loud crash from downstairs.

"What the hell?" Eden yelled, shooting up from the chair. The pair race downstairs just in time to see a soccer ball smack against the kitchen wall at high speeds. Damon dodged it just in time and Jeremy ran to the kitchen where Eden could just make out Bonnie. Curious as to when she two got here and why she was still wearing her outfit from last night, she headed that way as well.

"Ah, Eden darling." She paused, knowing exactly to whom the voice belonged to. She turned around slowly, coming face to face with Klaus.